Explore Site

There Is Art In All Of Us

Recently I decided to download a great drawing app to my Kindle Fire (Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi). It’s called Sketchbook by Autodesk. For many years I’ve toyed with the idea of trying to draw or do art of some kind, but all attempts ended up fizzling rather quickly. I’d go to the art store, buy some supplies, bring them home with every intention of playing around with them, and then they just sat unused. Evidently having a digital art medium at my fingertips is changing that for me. I’m actually starting to make some art. I’m a rank beginner and have no allusions of great artistic skills (yet), but something happened that changed my perspective significantly.

I posted some art (pictured below) to Facebook that I drew during a recent plane trip to Cleveland. I’ve found drawing to be one of the few things that quiets and calms my mind, emptying it of anything but what it is I’m creating at the time. It’s very meditative for me.

Anyway, when I posted the picture below on Facebook one of my friends contacted me to tell me how much she enjoyed it. So much so that she asked if she could buy a canvas print of it. I was stunned. Someone liked a work of art I created enough to pay for it? That moment proved something to me.

There is art in all of us!

So often in life we hesitate to create, art or anything. Our fears, trepidations, self-doubts, friends’ negativity and other factors place emotional roadblocks in our lives that keep us from creating and exploring those things in life we want to do. What that woman did for me in terms of bolstering my self-confidence can’t be emphasized too much. It was huge. I’m a fairly confident guy, but even the most confident of us have areas of our lives in which we may lack that confidence. Art was one of those areas for me and this woman did me a great service by telling me she really liked something I created.

So if you have ever hesitated to create art, or create or do anything, due to such fears, know that there are people who will love what you do. Don’t listen too much to the critics. They might have valid points, but they might also just be critical to be critical. Even nice people sometimes put out negativity because they are unconsciously jealous of someone else pursuing their dreams.

Go make art, whatever “art” means to you. I’d love to hear about your experiences if you do.

One Comment on “There Is Art In All Of Us”

While I am not a religious person, I do believe that the ancient Greeks were onto something in their conception of a multi-dimensional pantheon of gods, muses, fates, and furies. In some way Greek philosophy, ranging from the overt worship of gods to the “atheism” of the atomists managed to externalize and render comprehensible the human spirit; they shed a light on what lives in the twilight of the unconscious.

I’ve been making art most of my life, and have brought that maker spirit into every one of my endeavors. For some long periods, however, I’ve left art-for-arts-sake and tried to focus on things more ostensibly prosaic. Four years ago I came back to art with the help of my friend Cliff Bostock, and I have since produced 800 pieces (give or take). What I have learned is that art is both existentially necessary and the most reliable means to give voice to our own inner pantheon.

Whatever the universe is actually made of, it seems clear that a good bit of what happens with us occurs on levels we cannot readily perceive. Coincidence, intuition, flashes of insight, and moments of inspiration are the synthesis of more dimensions. The practice of making art isn’t therapy (to call it such would dimension this most fundamental act). Rather, making art is a path to the trans-dimensional. To make art we must learn to really listen to what the muses have to tell us. The muses speak in the hushed and meditative tones of our own inner voices. Once we learn to listen we’re on our way to a more meaningful life in every respect.